Sanitary toothpick dispenser



April 13 1926.

F. FIORE j SANITARY TOOTHPICK DISPENSER Filed y 22, 1924 INVENTOR:

fizlcricl! brc,

mgiusn Patented Apr. 13,1926. 7

' raianniticx; Eleanor BRQ Y Ne -rem.

" "SANITARY rooinrrcn DISPENSER.

' awash-nay 22, 1 24; SeriaiNo.-:7 15, 108. p

To alleukemic} maycmwera: i

' Be itijknoWn that I, FREDERICK F roRE, a subject of the King ofltaly (who hasdeclared'hisintention to become a citizen o t the United States), residingin the borough of Brooklyn, county,of Kinggstate of 'NeW York, have invented a certain new and useful-Sanitary, Toothpick Dispenser, or which t'he'f'ollowing is a specification.

toothpicks and the like, andparticularlyito a device, of this character adapted 1'0 be manually operated; to dispense one toothpickf at atime and. to i presentf the same in position for Withdrawal, andfxvhich is;

tary in character." 1

Dispensers of this t ype have heretofore possessed the defect that the receptacles conmining-"the toothpicks are inoreor lss un sanitary, in'that they are generallyp'rovidf ed with an'opening,usuallyat the top of the receptacle,through which theTtoothpick is adapted to be passed, Thisopening presents a source of danger to the health ofthe user T of a toothpick from such receptacles because dust, dirt and gerins 'haye access to the toothpicks, in the receptacle, through said -open. ing, and this is particularly the case i'vit-h toothpick dispensers located in public places,

such as the tables orcount'ers of restaurants and eating places. Another "defectpos'sessed by toothpickdispensers heretofore usedxis that the toothpick delivered from the recep-. ta

quired toprevent the toothpickfrom falling on to thetable or floor.

The primary-object of the present inven tion is to enablea toothpick dispensertobe I entirely sanitary in; character, the receptacle adapted to contain thesup'ply of toothpicks' being-closed at all times except when a, tooth pick is being passedout ofthe. receptacle.

I A, further .obj ect is to cause the tooth pi'ckf to be securely. held inposition for delivery above, the receptaclelwhilethesanitary ;clo-

sure or'coverlis closedso that the toothpick may be e o e e e ema-ma or,are. userwhich is employed i qpeyatingtheydisy penser. i 1 I A still furtherqobject .is'to generally simplify and improve the construction of the dispenser and render: it more .eificientiinpp las; cheapening' its'post' of; i i

' j id 'ri r m a -.9tthei qiee nglip(5.,

4 flllddiii ifig i f l glipositeend an opening 6 This invention. relates to. dispensers vfor is not securely held in position for delivery and'bothf hands of thelus'e'r arerepear, andto all these ends Ihave devised the toothpick dispenser-described in the follow ing specification. and illustrated: in. the accompanying drawings, forming. a part here: of,.wherein f I .-F 'g'ure 1"is.a ferred embodiment of; the dispenser;

Figure 2, a toplplanviexvl of the same; 4 i Figure3,,aasectional;view,"partly in ele- -frontfelevation of one prevation, taken on the line'3 3-'of.Figure 1 ;Eigure'..4;, a lside: elevation of. oneend of the receptacle; 7

1 Figure 5, a trAIISXGISGSQCtIQHEl viewtaken on the line .55 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction-of the arrows; c

Figure 6, a longitudinal sectional View 'tliroughthefupper portion; of the receptacle, showing va, toothpick approaching tl1e fi11al portion. of its delivery movement Figure 7, an enlarged detail sectionalview illustrating thet'oothpick in theposition as-' surned at the completion of the delivery operat-ion y I Figure 8, a top plan View of the receptacle illustrating a modified form of sanitary closure therefor;

F'gureQ, a sectional view taken on the line 9-9] of Figure 8, looking in the direc tion of the arrows,illustrating the operation of the modified. ;form otclosure shown in Figure 8; and

FigurelOis a the receptacle illustrating a preferred form of spring jaw construction for holding the toothpick in delivery position. a 1 in the drawings I haveshown the toothpick dispenser as forming part of a condiment stand 1, but it is understood. that the dispenser mav be independently mounted upon anysuitablebase or may form part of other desired device. 7 In this instance the top 26f the condiment stand body may be considered the, base. A suitable receptacle 3 is'adap'ted to be mounted above the basei2. This receptacle 3 may be of any desired shape and is here shown ascylindrical in form, ofalength slightly greater than that of the toothpicks to be contained therein andv ofa diameter sufficient to; contain any tacle may be constructed of'rnetal, glass, or other inaterialdandlin this instance I have constructed the same of metal a removablesupplydoor fiatpneend, adapted to be detail View of port-ion lbs desired 'quantityof"toothpicks, The recepcovered with transparent material 7 through which: the; supply of; toothpicks within the recept-aclei's visible.- 7

The bottom of the receptacle inthis instance is shown to beprovidedwi-tha dowirturned rib 8, and to this rib 8, substantially at the centre thereof, is secured: a hollow plunger 9 adapted to reciprocate in a cylinder 10 located below the base-2: The-plunger 9 and cylinder 10 are adapted to house a suitable resilient member, here shown as a coiled spring 11, which tends to, urge the receptacle to its upward position above the base 2. Rigidly secured to the base 2 are a plurality of standards 12 and 13: The upper portions of these standards l2 and are adapted to pass through openings ll 1n the rib 8 and the upper ends of the standards aresubstantially flush with the bottom of the receptacle 3'. These upper endsv ot' the standards have projecting portions 15 adapted to bear against the bottom of the receptacle above the openings lah t hus fixing the upward limit of travel of the receptacle against the coiled spring 1O. 1

The upper ends-of the standards 12 and l3 preferably have aligned grooves 1'6 and 177 of sufiicient' width to accommodate but one toothpick, and the standards are so spaced that at one end, in this instance the end adj acent to the standard 123, the toothpick resting in the grooves 16' and 1'? will project a short distance therebeyond, as indicated at 18.

The receptacle has a suitable manually operated lever 19, which, upon being pressed down causes the receptacle to descend toward the base 2, guided by the standards. 12' and 13. This movement brings the .top of the receptacle down toward the upper ends of the standards 12 and 13, so that the toothpick resting in the aligned grooves *16 and 17 is positioned adjacent tothe top of the receptacle. The descending movement of the receptacle causes all the other toothpicks therein to fall away from above the upper ends of the Standards so that there is no congestion at the top of the receptacle.

Toward the latter part of the downward movement of the receptacle the, end '18 or the toothpick to be delivered is caused to be engaged by a transverse pin or bar 205 seen clearly in Figure 6, and the adjustment, is such that the pin 20 is adapted tel-move past the edge, 21 of the grooveftfi and-this movementcauses-the toothpick to be tilted, the edge 21 jacting as a fulcrum, so that the toothpiclr is turned from a horizontal to a vertical -p'0Si-tion. further "portion of the downward movement; of the receptacle causes the standard '12- 150 wedge the toothpick 'between small springjaws 22, preferably located at 'a $n1all "(low urned'rfih 8 thisifigture, whereby the jaws are adapted to be located within the V-shaped opening 23 without" projecting into the receptacle. This construction enables the receptacle to be moved relatively to the base so that the groove 16"of the standard 112 is substantially in alignment with the V-shaped opening 23 and the toothpick projected from, the receptacle is thereby adapted to be more firinlywedged within the jaw members;

7 The sanitary closure which I have pro vided torthe toothpick receptacle will now be described. seen in the drawings, the op f e p efif s mended w th a o git dina P hgf2 "W1 fl'i jh the 011. ng 2 j e v ef rred. t ter s a lac;- Th-is opening 24 is adaptedjto, covered by a suitable closure door 25,- shown in Figures 1 2, 3 and 6. The door 24, preferablyconforms to the outer configuration of, the receptacle 3, and is held closed by a small spring 26 of relatively slight flexibility. During the passage of the toothpick from the receptacle the nd 27 of the toothpick is caused to engage the inner surface of the closure door 25,fas seen in Figure 6, and as the toothpick moves out of the receptacle tOWZllfCl th vertical position under the influ ence of the pin 20, the toothpick slides past the door and the door 25, is, caused to open upon its hinge 28. When the toothpick has passed the end 29 of the door 25 thedoor will snap closed behind the toothpick to'its.

normal lo ed p is iti m der th influ n e of the spring 26,the toothpick at thistime being held between the small-spring, jaws22, as seeirin Figure 7 v Upon the removal of pressure from the manual lever 1 9; the coiled spring 11 causes the receptacle to rise to its normal upward position, carrying with it the toothpick in vertical delivery position, Tlie toothpick is then adapted to be removed by the same hand of the-user; with which the lever 1 9has een 1mnil9 ll.ated-. The. v c opera es r p y; the us imp y pre ing t ev r with ne mor fingers. and wi er es th tQO P cks des red, 11 a a me- The ndos d receptacle ns. the, toothpicks in a ean an ani a. im p ej n app arance, onst uct on, nd 11 iomfhut may be made as r i mea e desiredfor use in homes, asa bursa acces; orr, as; We l as n. pu li a ng Pla Themes? shcfvzn i receptacle upon th el a plung r 9 and s ndards lezanais, representbutone emhgd agar, gr

r condition. The device. is

iere in to]; mount-ingthe s ag may be provided for imparting greater: stability or the plunger 9' may be omitted entirely and the standards 12 and 13 suitably equipped withresilientmeans-for;urging the receptacle to its normal position. Similarly,

any number .of standards may; ;be employed andthe same are capable of variations in tion.

illustrated in Figures Sand 9, I have illustrated a sanitary closure door of double construction, adapted to operate with somewhat greater facility than the single door construction already described. In this instance the closure consists of two members and 31, hinged at 32 and 33, respectively and having resilient members or flexible spring members, indicated at 34: and 35, respectively. The ends 36 and'37 of the closure members 30 and 31 are adapted to meet at a point substantially in alignment with the spring jaws 23. In this case, the toothpick, in passing out of the receptacle, slides past the meeting ends 36 and 37, thuseliminating to a considerable extent the resistance impartedbythe closure, and contributing to the refinement of the construction.

It is understood that various changes might be resorted to in the construction, form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, hence I do not wish to be limited strictly to the constructions herein shown and described.

hat I claim is: f

1. A sanitary toothpick dispenser comprising a receptacle to contain a supply of toothpicks and having an opening to afford egress for a toothpick, meansto project a toothpick partly through said opening, means to hold said toothpick in delivery position, and a closure for said opening, said closure normally held closed, said projected toothpick arranged to slide past said closure to open the same for passage of the toothpick, said closure arranged to close behind the toothpick and remain closed'while said toothpick is held in delivery position by said holding means.

2. A sanitary toothpick dispenser comprising a receptacle to contain a supply of.

toothpicks and having an opening to afford egress for a toothpick, means to pro ect a toothpick partly through said opening, a

sanitary closure for said opening, said closure arranged to be ope'ne'd'by engagement with said toothpick during the inter Referring pa'rticularlyto the modification Will lot, itsv projection," and. .-to" close L'behind thetoothpick when tllBztOOthPlGk attains'delivery; p sitiOm-Tand me ans independent of said closureltor'hold saidtoothpick in deliveryfpositionfi.

3. Asanitary "toothpick:dispenser comfrom the receptacle and said resilient means 7 arranged to return said closure to itsnormalclosed position behind the toothpick when said toothpick ispresented to said holding means. 7

4. A sanitary toothpick dispenser comprising a base, a receptacle adapted to con tain a supply of toothpicks and having an opening affording egress for a toothpick,

means for effecting projectionofa toothpick partially through said openlng, .a sanitary I closure for said opening normally held closed and adapted to be opened by engage-V ment with said toothpick duringthe interval of its projection from said receptacle,. said projecting means being adapted to impart a tilting "inovementto said toothpick during its egress from said receptacle, said toothpick having sliding engagement with said closure, and means for holding thetoothpick in delivery position partially within and partially without said receptacle after said toothpick has passed said closure.

5. A sanitary toothpick dispenser comprising a stationarybase, a movable recepa toothpick to be ejected is located in closer .tacle mounted on said base, said receptacle being adapted to contain a supply of toothpicks and having an opening alfording proximity'to said opening, a stop adapted I tocooperate with said toothpick receiving means and to engage one'end of said toothpick whereby saidtoothpick is tilted, and

the opposite end'of said toothpick engaging said sanitary closure to effect opening thereof affording partial projection of said toothpick from said receptacle, and resilient means for holding said toothpick in delivery position, said sanitary closure arranged to close behind said toothpick and to remain closed while said toothpick is held'in said delivery position.

6. sanitary toothpick dispenser comprising a receptacle. havingan egress opening and a delivery aperture, meanstoproject a toothpick partialliy through said opening, a spring clip in said delivery aperture to hold said toothpick in delivery position, and a closure for said opening, said closure arranged to open during passage of the toothpick from the receptacle and to close and remain closed: While said toothpick is held; in delivery position.

7;. A sanitary toothpick dispenser comprisinga receptacle having. a filling opening at one of its ends, a removable supply door for said filling: opening, said receptacle also, having an egress opening and a V- shaped delivery aperture, means to project a toothpick; partially through said egress opening; a. spring clip atsaid V -shapedj deliveryirpertu-re. to hold said toothpickin delivery position, and a, closure for said egress opening, said" closure arranged to open during passage of the toothpick from the receptacle and to close and remain closed RED-ERICK FIOBLEQ 

